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breaking news

Deal urges emergency crews to rest up – another cold snap is coming

Gov. Nathan Deal urged emergency crews working long hours to clear the roadways and restore power to get some rest soon – another cold snap is coming.

The governor visited an emergency command center in Atlanta Tuesday to thank the first-responders and remind them of weather forecasts that show freezing temperatures will return to north Georgia later this week.

“I told them to get some rest, since it appears we’ll have some bad weather by the end of the week,” he said.

Deal has declared a state of emergency for 24 north Georgia counties, a move that frees up state resources for local officials. But he said day two of the state’s response to the wintry blast shows that the advice of a task force he convened after last year’s winter weather is paying off.

The string of monitors placed along interstate highways has helped transportation officials predict the impact of the snow and ice, he said, and the state has better stores of sand and rock and gravel. The new brine mix, he added, has helped keep the roads free of ice.

“We’ve learned a lot of things, and I think we have demonstrated that we have pretty well figured out what we need to do,” said Deal.

“Does that mean we can always outsmart Mother Nature? Absolutely not. But we are in a much better position now than we have ever been in this state to prepare and react in advance.”